Illuminated manuscripts have the tiniest strokes details. They’re so intricate I don’t see how they were made without a visual aid. Unless….they were created by someone who could naturally see with precision. Even in the ancient world magnification was technically possible. Crystal or glass lenses were known. But no deliberately created lenses have been found from then. And Pliny didn’t […]
With western art books and resources being mostly produced by white people they tend to assume the white European as a human standard. And in Western European illuminated manuscripts there is a dearth of people of color. But they do exist. And all ethnicities are welcomed into the SCA. Dijon – BM – ms._0562 f. 181Vcreated around 1260-1270 representing the Holy Land So how do you create an award scroll for a non-White friend with people that look like them? Or maybe your scroll recipient has assumed a Saracen persona. How do you create a scroll creating accurate historic art combat scenes? You seek out original works. There are a few Western European illuminated manuscript pages including people of color. But they may be inappropriate to use such as this one portraying people in the Holy Land created in the late 13th century. Some 13th -15th century popular French illuminated manuscripts feature Christian-Muslim interaction pictures such as the British Library’s Histoire d’Outremer. And various copies of the Grandes Chroniques de France and the Roman d’Alexandre en Prose. But the best place to search is the website MedievalPOC. It is a blog showcasing European works of art featuring people of color from the fall of the Roman Empire until about 1650. Often these works go unseen elsewhere and you might see them differently now viewing them from a fresh perspective. The blog is searchable and even gives you a guide to its use. If you search digitized manuscripts you’ll see the […]
The way Medieval faces, feet, and hands appear in manuscripts varies by era or location, often in the details. Some appear cartoonish others more realistic. What’s the best way for you to learn how to draw period-looking people? Motifs I traced then transferred to M. Luciana’s Renaissance scroll. Most of us have been seeing since we were born but learning how to observe […]
From the Daily Star in the UK You can enhance your work by nurturing your visual awareness. Whether you research pixels in medieval manuscripts or notice details in modern pictures you increase your observation powers through constant practice. What do you see in the picture to the right? Is it a duck or a rabbit? Whether you see a rabbit or a […]
See the details? Have you been asking yourself when painting a preprint or charter why experienced scribes put the shadows where they do? Why the whitework goes where it does? Or how you transform what you see to the page? Here’s an idea for you to try. Before the huge number of illuminations on the internet, I would hunt down books that had enlarged the small pictures of illuminations. Today it’s easy to do the same thing yourself with online images. Find a high-resolution digital illumination picture you like and zoom-in. Enlarge and expand them dramatically. Save them or print them out. Then take your time and study their strokes and details. Try to recreate them. On Pinterest, I have a few boards that may help you with this. Illumination: Drapery Illumination: Shading Illumination: Strokes Illumination: Whitework I have confidence you’ll figure things out. The more illuminations you peruse and pore over the strokes the easier it becomes. It’s all about you recreating tiny details. Related Prior Post: 5 Tips To Train Your Artist Eye Related External Page: Advanced Illumination by Mistress Nerissa de Saye
As an SCA scribe, I’m both scroll designer and producer. Without a knack for each and both together the scrolls I do fall short. Luminous scribal creations are best handled by frequent practice, exploration, and experiment. Each scroll is unique for the accumulated knowledge and skills expressed at the time you produce it. Your entire scribal experiences flow into each work you […]
Inspired by14th century French manuscripts. I’m on a quest. I constantly search to see the details in illuminated manuscripts to incorporate in my illumination. This started when I first found medieval manuscripts. It’s what enthralled me then and still does. The search is how I learned to make scrolls appear like illuminated medieval manuscripts. Along the way I learned these tips […]
People don’t see detail like a camera, and yet as a scribe detail is penultimate. We anticipate what we think we should see therefore we miss things. Our logical brain gets in our own way. My first SCA art teacher, M. Gillian of Dragonsley, showed me a way around this, at least for my then novice brain. To draw an […]
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